Joseph Smith Papers Project Publication

This volume released Wednesday is called volume one even though it was published eighth in a series of other books. This volume took more than a decade to compile and research, historians said, because of the complications in identifying the chronology of various documents.

The overall project was created by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to make publicly available every document produced by Church founder Joseph Smith or by his scribes. The first volume of the project was published in 2008.

“This new Documents series will publish, in chronological order, all the early historical documents associated with the Restoration of the Church,” said Elder Steven E. Snow, Church historian and recorder. “Together, these texts provide unparalleled insight into the life and prophetic thought of Joseph Smith, one of the most important figures in American religious history.”

The 640-page book released Wednesday, Documents, Volume 1: July 1828–June 1831, features Joseph Smith’s earliest surviving papers, including more than 60 of his revelations, most of which were later canonized in the Doctrine and Covenants, said to information released by the church.

Congratulations to the project!

About CathyHajo

Cathy Moran Hajo received her Ph.D. from New York University. She is the Associate Editor and Assistant Director of the Margaret Sanger Papers Project also at New York University, and the author of Birth Control on Main Street (2010). She teaches the Creating Digital History and the History and New Media courses for the Archives and Public History Program of NYU's Graduate program in history, and Digital History for the Graduate Program in History of William Paterson University.